Moving ? - Really what's the difference

czechmate · 04-25-2007, 08:36 AM

What do you think?

DH has several interviews coming up and we've been discussing the possibility of moving.

If he gets an offer, he might take it and we will need to move. 1st year pay is horrible and 2nd year pay is really no better. He would have to commute and benefits aren't really that great. He would then be on the bottom of the seniority list and so on..... It would take us at least 4 years to get caught back up to what he makes now.

OR

He postponed an interview overseas where they offer a tax-free income, paid 4 bedroom villa, benefits are much better than the first example but we would have to pay for private school. (Which would not be a problem.) He would be gone - ALOT and we would be living in a foreign country with different laws. The good thing is a couple of our friends have already accepted a position, so we would know a few people.

I believe it would be smarter to go overseas and not have to struggle for so many years and have him get heavy time and then possibly come back to the states. Make a 2 year or 5 year plan. (If we hate it - we will plan to stay for 2 years or 5 years). We could rent out our house or continue to pay on it here so we would have a home to come back too. I also believe it would be a great experience for our children. The city we would live in is very westernized and accepting of most cultures.

DH's concern is that we are American and we would be living in a muslim country and that scares him. My arguement is that I have a better chance of getting mugged or attacked in downtown Cincinnati (or from traveling magazine salespeople) than I would there.

Thoughts?

Eastbayk · 04-25-2007, 11:12 AM

This is a hard situation to be in! I really can't even offer an opinion to you b/c I don't know what I would do. But I do recall reading at least one post on JetCareers about pilots taking this same kind of overseas deal and they seemed somewhat negative. Like maybe the deal wasn't as good as it seemed? I'd reccomend you poke around on there and see what you find and also maybe Doug or Kristie can help you find some posts about it.

Speaking from experience though, the opportunity to live in another country is extremely challenging but also extremely rewarding.

Kim

rgphib · 04-25-2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eastbayk

But I do recall reading at least one post on JetCareers about pilots taking this same kind of overseas deal and they seemed somewhat negative. Like maybe the deal wasn't as good as it seemed? I'd reccomend you poke around on there and see what you find and also maybe Doug or Kristie can help you find some posts about it.

I know DH's message board had a few threads a while back about working out there....and as Kim said they all said the deal wasn't as good as it seemed. I heard the interview is 3-4 days and the pilot has to bring their spouse...that was a few years ago according to the thread I just found, so I am not sure if it is still true.

Ultimately it is a decision for you and DH. Are you willing to be over there? Will you mind being away from family? It is a really big and tough decision.

I understand about going to the bottom of someones senority list and taking years to make what he makes now. We are in the same situation. DH has been with ExpressJet since June of 1999....if he does get a job with Southwest- 2nd year FO pay is great. JetBlue- not as great....but there is a lot of potential (if he went there and was on the 190 upgrade to CA right now is 18months...and then he would be making what he makes now). DH's big thing is going to a company that has its own flying. He is really happy at ExpressJet but once CAL took away part of their flying it makes him nervous since they can take away more flying soon. It is such a hard decision....

czechmate · 04-25-2007, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgphib

I know DH's message board had a few threads a while back about working out there....and as Kim said they all said the deal wasn't as good as it seemed. I heard the interview is 3-4 days and the pilot has to bring their spouse...that was a few years ago according to the thread I just found, so I am not sure if it is still true.

Ultimately it is a decision for you and DH. Are you willing to be over there? Will you mind being away from family? It is a really big and tough decision.

I understand about going to the bottom of someones senority list and taking years to make what he makes now. We are in the same situation. DH has been with ExpressJet since June of 1999....if he does get a job with Southwest- 2nd year FO pay is great. JetBlue- not as great....but there is a lot of potential (if he went there and was on the 190 upgrade to CA right now is 18months...and then he would be making what he makes now). DH's big thing is going to a company that has its own flying. He is really happy at ExpressJet but once CAL took away part of their flying it makes him nervous since they can take away more flying soon. It is such a hard decision....

My dh interviewed with Southwest last year but didn't get it. We knew that Southwest likes military but we thought with 8 internal letters of recommendation he might have a chance - but no. (It's the hardest company to figure out what they're looking for.)
He would still like to work for them and they've told him to get his type rating ($8000 with no promise of a job) and then they will look at him sooner than later. But with his $1300/month pay cut last month, I really don't want to touch our savings if there is no guarantee of a job.

JetBlue is scary to us. There's a ton of Comair pilots there, some love it and some wish they never left, but that's not where he wants to work. BUT in time that would give him another type rating to then move on again. There's rumors that they're being bought out and dh doesn't want to be on the bottom of the list if that happens. Plus they don't offer stock options to new hires anymore.

Emirates now pays for dh's ticket to Dubai and I've heard they pay for the spouse too - but not sure. If the spouse attends the 3 day interview they consider that a plus. Because they believe if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. I would love the opportunity to live overseas. My parents retired to FL so they said they would come see us. (Although it took my mom a week to talk to me after we scheduled his interview)

Staying with Comair is a risk. When Delta exits bankrupcy will they sell us, keep us, spin us off???? We're the red-headed stepchild of Delta and they hate us. We're waiting to see what they do to us. Mesa's been touring the property, if that's true he's made it clear he's taking the first job anywhere.

It's a hard decision - he's going on 10 1/2 years here, has great seniority and we're settled. But I know that his dream is to move on to bigger aircraft.

I don't know anymore.
To lessen the stress, I've resorted to the magic 8 ball. Do we stay? (shake, shake, shake)

rgphib · 04-25-2007, 12:59 PM

I completely understand everything you said!

JetBlue scares DH a little, but so does staying where he is sometimes. Plus, JetBlue has a Boston base, so DH could drive to work....that is our dream. And he says they are young....but what did people say about Southwest when they first started in the 70's.....

Southwest is his dream......but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to who they hire and who they don't......its just pure luck sometimes! DH agrees- he will not get a type rating just for an interview. Plus, if you get the interview you have a good of chance as any to get the job with the type or not.

Good luck with your decision to go to Emirates or not.....let me know if the magic 8 ball works! I might need it in June when we hear about DH interviews (we know we probably won't hear from either until middle/end of June......and he interviews in May.....how will I ever make it that long!).

I completely understand about the great seniority and being settled. It will be so hard to go from number 417 to the bottom number some where else. And we have great vacation weeks this year (week in July, August and xmas week)....and the vacation policy at ExpressJet is awesome (1 week usually turns into 2-2.5 weeks).

Let us know what you guys finally decide.

czechmate · 04-25-2007, 01:42 PM

Robyn,
It's so nice to know that I'm not the only one who's trying to figure this out. I forgot to say good luck to your dh with his interview. Tell him to be himself and relax. He'll do great.

I see that you're from NH. My dh is orginally from RI and went to Daniel Webster in Nashua. I love New England. It's so beautiful! If he ends up getting and taking the jetBlue job, NH, VT or ME would be where we would look to move. He would want the BOS domicile too.
Good luck!
Jen

rgphib · 04-25-2007, 02:09 PM

Small world- we live in Nashua, I teach 8th grade there. We also have a house in the lakes region of central NH.....it is so beautiful in NH. DH grew up in Nashua, I grew up in Dracut, MA. We both went to college at Florida Institute of Technology (met down there, even though we grew up 20 minutes apart).

Nope! You are not the only one in this position! It is nice to have someone else who is going through the same thing though! I'm hear if you ever need to talk or vent. Or you can email me as well, just pm me for my email addy

As far as his interviews....it would be better if the guys he asked for LOR's actually sent them already! One said he mailed them yesterday, one we are picking up Friday but he hasn't heard from the other 2 yet and his first interview is a week from today (he figured he'd get 4 in case one doesn't show up.....and now he is worrying about 2 not showing up!). I'm sure it will all work out.....it is just really stressful.

Does your DH have an interview with JetBlue coming up? The good thing about JetBlue (even if they are scary) is that upgrade on the 190 is 18months right now and that pay is not as bad (not as good as SW as a 2nd year FO but.....)....and then hopefully a few years after that he could go to airbus CA and make a bit better money. I guess it isn't always about money though, we are looking at QOL right now. SWA we would eventually move to Florida and he would commute to Orlando. JetBlue we could stay here and he could be based in Boston or move to Florida and commute to Fort Lauderdale.....but right now the commute to EWR from MHT is not good.....and the lines in EWR are getting so bad (he is bidding 70 something out of over 200 lines and can't hold commutable trips this month...and he bid to work weekends because of the interviews).

czechmate · 04-25-2007, 08:05 PM

My dh has an interview with JetBlue in June. He pushed it as far back as possible. He's had other requests for interviews from AirTran, Emirates and Skybus. But he wants to see what will happen with Comair after we emerge from bankrupcy before he makes a decision.
We have a great QOL - my dh is a simulator checkairman, so he works in the sim 6 hrs a day/ 4 days a week (approx). Then he's able to fly on his off days for overtime. He's only gone when he wants (or I want) him to be.

It's sad to hear that the lines for your dh aren't commutable. That really takes a toll on him and you after awhile.

My dh commuted for about 6 months and I thought we would get divorced. We had just had our son a few months earlier and that December, dh was home 8 days. He was on reserve and it worked out that he would only have 1 day off in between reserve windows so he would have to stay in CVG, and then on top of that, we had horrible weather that month and they cancelled his flights. It was horrible. But he got lucky and got into the training department. But that was another adjustment of having him home all the time. He drove me nuts.

roz · 04-25-2007, 08:11 PM

Unfortunately, Comair was once a great company until it was bought by Delta. They destroyed a great company. He should run before everyone else is running. They have had lawyers retained to sell it for months now.

But this is not legal advice.

laralen02 · 04-25-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by czechmate

To lessen the stress, I've resorted to the magic 8 ball. Do we stay? (shake, shake, shake)

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that! I am a huge fan of my magic 8ball...is it sad that I actually listen to it?

04-25-2007, 08:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
czechmate Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Hebron, KY Posts: 552 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Moving ? - Really what's the difference What do you think? DH has several interviews coming up and we've been discussing the possibility of moving. If he gets an offer, he might take it and we will need to move. 1st year pay is horrible and 2nd year pay is really no better. He would have to commute and benefits aren't really that great. He would then be on the bottom of the seniority list and so on..... It would take us at least 4 years to get caught back up to what he makes now. OR He postponed an interview overseas where they offer a tax-free income, paid 4 bedroom villa, benefits are much better than the first example but we would have to pay for private school. (Which would not be a problem.) He would be gone - ALOT and we would be living in a foreign country with different laws. The good thing is a couple of our friends have already accepted a position, so we would know a few people. I believe it would be smarter to go overseas and not have to struggle for so many years and have him get heavy time and then possibly come back to the states. Make a 2 year or 5 year plan. (If we hate it - we will plan to stay for 2 years or 5 years). We could rent out our house or continue to pay on it here so we would have a home to come back too. I also believe it would be a great experience for our children. The city we would live in is very westernized and accepting of most cultures. DH's concern is that we are American and we would be living in a muslim country and that scares him. My arguement is that I have a better chance of getting mugged or attacked in downtown Cincinnati (or from traveling magazine salespeople) than I would there. Thoughts?

04-25-2007, 11:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
Eastbayk Jetgirls Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 404 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference This is a hard situation to be in! I really can't even offer an opinion to you b/c I don't know what I would do. But I do recall reading at least one post on JetCareers about pilots taking this same kind of overseas deal and they seemed somewhat negative. Like maybe the deal wasn't as good as it seemed? I'd reccomend you poke around on there and see what you find and also maybe Doug or Kristie can help you find some posts about it. Speaking from experience though, the opportunity to live in another country is extremely challenging but also extremely rewarding. Kim __________________ -Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again What's it like to be me? http://ohthelifeofapilotswife.blogspot.com/

04-25-2007, 12:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
rgphib Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NH Posts: 853 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference I completely understand everything you said! JetBlue scares DH a little, but so does staying where he is sometimes. Plus, JetBlue has a Boston base, so DH could drive to work....that is our dream. And he says they are young....but what did people say about Southwest when they first started in the 70's..... Southwest is his dream......but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to who they hire and who they don't......its just pure luck sometimes! DH agrees- he will not get a type rating just for an interview. Plus, if you get the interview you have a good of chance as any to get the job with the type or not. Good luck with your decision to go to Emirates or not.....let me know if the magic 8 ball works! I might need it in June when we hear about DH interviews (we know we probably won't hear from either until middle/end of June......and he interviews in May.....how will I ever make it that long!). I completely understand about the great seniority and being settled. It will be so hard to go from number 417 to the bottom number some where else. And we have great vacation weeks this year (week in July, August and xmas week)....and the vacation policy at ExpressJet is awesome (1 week usually turns into 2-2.5 weeks). Let us know what you guys finally decide. __________________ ~Robyn~ Wife to a new Southwest FO....and Mommy to Jack!

04-25-2007, 01:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
czechmate Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Hebron, KY Posts: 552 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference Robyn, It's so nice to know that I'm not the only one who's trying to figure this out. I forgot to say good luck to your dh with his interview. Tell him to be himself and relax. He'll do great. I see that you're from NH. My dh is orginally from RI and went to Daniel Webster in Nashua. I love New England. It's so beautiful! If he ends up getting and taking the jetBlue job, NH, VT or ME would be where we would look to move. He would want the BOS domicile too. Good luck! Jen

04-25-2007, 02:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
rgphib Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NH Posts: 853 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference Small world- we live in Nashua, I teach 8th grade there. We also have a house in the lakes region of central NH.....it is so beautiful in NH. DH grew up in Nashua, I grew up in Dracut, MA. We both went to college at Florida Institute of Technology (met down there, even though we grew up 20 minutes apart). Nope! You are not the only one in this position! It is nice to have someone else who is going through the same thing though! I'm hear if you ever need to talk or vent. Or you can email me as well, just pm me for my email addy As far as his interviews....it would be better if the guys he asked for LOR's actually sent them already! One said he mailed them yesterday, one we are picking up Friday but he hasn't heard from the other 2 yet and his first interview is a week from today (he figured he'd get 4 in case one doesn't show up.....and now he is worrying about 2 not showing up!). I'm sure it will all work out.....it is just really stressful. Does your DH have an interview with JetBlue coming up? The good thing about JetBlue (even if they are scary) is that upgrade on the 190 is 18months right now and that pay is not as bad (not as good as SW as a 2nd year FO but.....)....and then hopefully a few years after that he could go to airbus CA and make a bit better money. I guess it isn't always about money though, we are looking at QOL right now. SWA we would eventually move to Florida and he would commute to Orlando. JetBlue we could stay here and he could be based in Boston or move to Florida and commute to Fort Lauderdale.....but right now the commute to EWR from MHT is not good.....and the lines in EWR are getting so bad (he is bidding 70 something out of over 200 lines and can't hold commutable trips this month...and he bid to work weekends because of the interviews). __________________ ~Robyn~ Wife to a new Southwest FO....and Mommy to Jack! Last edited by Kristie; 04-25-2007 at 10:39 PM. Reason: never put an email addy on a public forum (even if it's members only)

04-25-2007, 08:05 PM	#8 (permalink)
czechmate Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Hebron, KY Posts: 552 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference My dh has an interview with JetBlue in June. He pushed it as far back as possible. He's had other requests for interviews from AirTran, Emirates and Skybus. But he wants to see what will happen with Comair after we emerge from bankrupcy before he makes a decision. We have a great QOL - my dh is a simulator checkairman, so he works in the sim 6 hrs a day/ 4 days a week (approx). Then he's able to fly on his off days for overtime. He's only gone when he wants (or I want) him to be. It's sad to hear that the lines for your dh aren't commutable. That really takes a toll on him and you after awhile. My dh commuted for about 6 months and I thought we would get divorced. We had just had our son a few months earlier and that December, dh was home 8 days. He was on reserve and it worked out that he would only have 1 day off in between reserve windows so he would have to stay in CVG, and then on top of that, we had horrible weather that month and they cancelled his flights. It was horrible. But he got lucky and got into the training department. But that was another adjustment of having him home all the time. He drove me nuts.

04-25-2007, 08:11 PM	#9 (permalink)
roz Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Philly Posts: 2,267 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Moving ? - Really what's the difference Unfortunately, Comair was once a great company until it was bought by Delta. They destroyed a great company. He should run before everyone else is running. They have had lawyers retained to sell it for months now. But this is not legal advice.

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